My Younger Sister Was My First Love

70. Keeping the Promise

I lived under the same roof as a girl who was like a god.

I went to school with a girl who was like a goddess.

In my life, where I couldn’t even find a girl to date, let alone a girlfriend.

At 21, I entered university, a phase that could be aptly described as a turning point.

“Jun-ho hyung.”

“Huh?”

I couldn’t focus during the lecture.

My head was a mess.

But maybe this kind of thing happening in my first year of college wasn’t so bad?

Maybe it was better than suddenly getting hit with a girl problem when I was about to graduate and had to write my thesis.

“What’s going on?”

“No? Why?”

“You look really tired, hyung.”

I’m tired, indeed.

I granted Min-ju’s request and drank a few bottles of soju.

In the morning, I was dragged by my younger sibling to learn how to give morning kisses.

If my mind was clear, that would be weird, right?

“I drank a bit last night.”

“Who with?”

“Min-ju.”

“Min-ju? Is it just the two of you with Min-ju noona?”

“Ah, keep it quiet.”

I responded carelessly, but soon felt uneasy.

The English department isn’t that populous.

You can’t compare it to departments with over 100 students per year.

It’s an especially female-dominated department.

If rumors spread, it wouldn’t take long for everyone to know.

“What’s up?”

“Min-ju gave my younger sibling private lessons, so I just said I’d buy drinks.”

“Wow, that’s so cool. I’m struggling with studying for the college entrance exam, but can’t find a private tutor for other subjects?”

With a face full of envy, I had to immediately block that guy’s vibe.

“No way.”

“Why not? I can do it for free.”

“Aren’t you being too obvious, humanly speaking?”

“Can I call you ‘hyung’?”

Ji-hwan glanced at me with a “don’t say that” expression and chuckled, nodding his head.

“Let’s stop here for today. Any questions?”

The professor, who seemed to enjoy golf, threw out a concluding remark, and the lecture room suddenly turned into a cold, silent space.

It was as if we were having some sort of unspoken, psychological battle to avoid asking questions.

“Okay, see you next time.”

The professor officially ended the class, and time, which had been frozen, could finally move again.

“Hyung, are you going to eat and head to the club room?”

“The club room?”

“Why not? Do you have other plans?”

“Ah.”

Ji-hwan and I were in the same club, so our routines were always similar.

“……I’ll go.”

Min-ju would definitely be there, 100%.

It had already been two months since I started frequenting the club room.

The time I would meet Min-ju was fixed.

But avoiding Min-ju would be another strange story.

Ah, it would still be super awkward, though.

I tried to hide my anxious heart and ate lunch with the others, then went to the club room with Ji-hwan, getting coffee on the way.

“Hello.”

The fixed members who are always present.

The student council president, senior Sunbae, Joo-ho hyung, and…

“Hey, Lee Jun-ho!”

“Hi.”

Min-ju, dressed in the student council’s windbreaker, was wearing the same baseball cap she had on yesterday.

Her pants were loose, gray training pants.

Today’s outfit seemed to scream “exam period.”

“I’m sorry I drank too much yesterday and suffered. Sorry.”

It felt like a dream that we had met again, just like last night when I received a confession.

“No, it’s nothing. I’m fine.”

“How about we go eat some naengmyeon as an apology? I’ll treat you.”

“I just ate, so…”

“With whom?”

“I ate with Ji-hwan and some freshmen.”

“Really?”

Min-ju brushed past me and sat down next to Ji-hwan.

“Ji-hwan-ah.”

“Yes, noona.”

“From now on, don’t eat lunch with Jun-ho on Mondays, got it?”

“Why? With Jun-ho hyung?”

“Because Jun-ho is going to eat with me.”

Shock level 1.

But the combo didn’t end there.

“Oh… has it finally happened?”

“It’s happening.”

“Yeah, what’s happening is…”

Min-ju was pouring fuel on the controversy, and I had just given Ji-hwan a piece of my mind.

“Why can’t I even eat with you?”

“No, you’re talking weirdly.”

“Oh, should I correct you? That I’m one-sidedly obsessed with Lee Jun-ho and chasing after him?”

An unprecedented heavy silence fell upon the student council room.

I, who had forgotten how to speak.

Ji-hwan, with a face that seemed to be watching a drama, was blinking his eyes.

And the student council president, who had been frowning, suddenly…

“Wow! Wow! Park Min-ju! Oh! You!”

Started making a noise that was almost like a monkey’s screech.

“Is that it? Are you okay now?”

“What’s wrong with what?”

“Wow! Park Min-ju, what’s wrong with you? You’re so bold!”

The student council president jumped up from the sofa and sat down right next to Ji-hwan.

“Ah, I don’t know. This kid is always causing trouble.”

“Joon-ho hyung, he’s a crazy scammer. Let’s cut ties. It’s exhausting.”

Ah, even in cartoons, it doesn’t happen like this!

This can’t be happening!

It’s over.

It’s only a matter of time before rumors spread.

Even if it’s not a superstar, it’s a guaranteed future to be on the lips of many people in various departments.

“No, but hyung, if I were you, I would’ve lived with Democratic unnie, so why are you doing this?”

This guy is asking questions as if the person involved is right next to him.

But it was Democratic who answered this uncomfortable question instead.

“I didn’t know what I liked when I was young, so I took it.”

“How badly did you bully unnie to make hyung say something like that?”

The arrow of Ji-hoon, who was supposed to be on my side, turned towards Democratic instead.

“No way? I didn’t bully you that much!”

“People who are guilty always say that.”

“No, it’s true! I just lightly scolded you and said you wouldn’t pass the test if you didn’t study.”

The public opinion of the people in the audience was strangely on my side.

“Ugh, trash who uses grades to bully.”

“Want to get hit?”

“Ah, unnie, but to be honest, grade bullying is a bit much.”

That’s right. This is Korea University.

A group of people who bleed over one problem at a time.

“Ah, didn’t you study at all when you were in elementary school, Lee Joon-ho?”

“Then why are you so obsessed with someone who’s not interested in studying?”

Ji-hoon and Democratic continued to bicker for a while, leaving me, the victim, behind.

“Sigh… So, Lee Joon-ho, are we going to eat together next week?”

“……Do we have to?”

Eating together isn’t difficult, but it’s a bit much in this state.

“Ah, let’s start fresh and take off our colored glasses!”

You can’t say ‘that’s your problem now…’.

“I don’t know, I don’t know. We’ll eat together then.”

“Alright!”

The tone of the conversation was strangely similar to Ji-hee’s.

Democratic, who seemed to notice that I was wavering, grabbed my shoulder and stroked my bone with her thumb.

“I’ll contact you. I’ll go first?”

As soon as Democratic’s class time arrived, she naturally slipped out of the lecture hall like a dandelion seed.

As soon as Democratic left, the hyena squad pounced on us like crazy.

Their target was the story about my secret meeting with Democratic.

“Hehehe… rumor… we have to spread it for sure?”

“Hyung, speak quickly. It’s really not interesting, so hurry up.”

“No. It’s not a big deal, really…….”

After that day, my nickname became “The Great Deceiver”.

* * *

May was coming to an end.

June was approaching.

From my perspective, the end of the semester was near, and for my younger sibling, who was a student, the June mock exam, known as the “make-or-break” exam, was approaching.

The June mock exam received special treatment because it was administered by the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation, the organization responsible for creating the college entrance exam and the most authoritative mock exam.

Whether one scored high or not in this exam would determine the atmosphere of the second semester’s study life.

Those who did well would become arrogant, while those who didn’t would become discouraged.

Of course, doing well on this exam didn’t guarantee success on the actual college entrance exam, but studying was like war, and morale played a crucial role.

“The 6th-grade exam is coming soon.”

I finished explaining the last question and put down my pen with a serious tone.

“This mock exam is really important. You should also remember it and prepare well.”

Jihee, dressed in her school uniform, stretched her arms and moved her head from side to side.

“Yeah, so I’ll eat snacks. I’ll talk.”

“No, we’re having an important conversation right now.”

“Ultimately, it’s just ‘tudy hard and do well on the exam.’ That’s it, right?”

Jihee let out a short sigh, as if she was tired of hearing such trivial advice.

“That’s true, but the June exam is administered by the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, so if I do well, you’ll give me a prize, right?”

It seemed like Jihee had made it a habit to take prizes from me whenever she did well on an exam.

“Yeah, if you get a good score, it’s good for you. Why do you always want me to give you a prize?”

“The reason I study is because of you, oppa.”

Jihee stood up from her chair and turned her body around.

“I’m studying hard because I want to attend the same school as you, oppa.”

“It’s not just about me; getting a good college degree will be a huge asset for your entire life.”

I felt like I was lecturing her like a 50-year-old man trying to give advice on a holiday.

“I’ll go to your college and join the same club. I’ll just sit there every day~”

It felt strange when I imagined it happening at the club.

I imagined us sitting in a row: me, Minju, Jihee.

Wow, this was real.

“Yeah, don’t come.”

“Why not?”

“Go to a different department. Our department is too hard.”

“But if I go to a different department, I won’t be able to join that club, will I?”

“No, what’s the point of joining the English Literature club, anyway?”

“Are you going to MT with oppa?”

“Be more serious!”

“Think about your life!”

I tried to hold back the shouting that was about to burst out, and I naturally punched my chest with my fist.

“Where does it hurt?”

“It’s like my brain gets weird when I talk to you.”

“That’s a good sign, isn’t it?”

Jihee opened the door and headed straight to the living room sofa.

“Ugh, I wish tomorrow would come soon.”

“Why?”

“Because oppa will do it properly tomorrow morning.”

As I recalled my promise with Jihee, I felt my ears burning.

“What’s so good about that? You’re always making me do things like this.”

“Don’t you feel loved? Isn’t that a good feeling?”

Jihee’s index finger brushed against my lips.

“Don’t you feel loved when oppa kisses you?”

As my head got hotter, it felt like my brain was going to explode. If that’s what love feels like, then that’s probably the correct answer.

“……I don’t know.”

“You can’t answer like that.”

Jihee glared at me and then got up from the sofa, holding onto the leather.

“Don’t do it. Don’t do it.”

I severely warned Jihee, anticipating that it would lead to a kiss or something similar. “You always just talk about it, but you’ve never actually done it before, oppa.”

Jihee naturally put their hand on my waist and spun around in a circle, as if dancing.

“I like it.”

I didn’t deny that I liked it either.

The acknowledgement was the same.

“Oppa.”

“Why?”

“I saw it.”

“What did you see?”

“That you didn’t throw it away.”

“Didn’t throw it away?”

Something that should have been thrown away but wasn’t.

Just for a moment. Is that possible?

“Are you keeping it well?”

Jihee’s hand gently stroked my thigh.

“When are you going to use it?”

“Let’s use it when we get into our school.”

I tried to laugh it off, but it wasn’t easy.

Ah, get rid of it right now.

No, why are you rummaging through someone else’s drawer from the start?

I turned my head to say something, and there was…….

“……I’ll keep my promise.”

My younger sibling, who was sitting with a straight posture, looked at me seriously.